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[3:00] Mikey Graceffa: The equity health benefits that were announced last week said they would be increasing the number of weeks needed to work in order to qualify for health care. This is in the middle of a time where work is impossible. It's also in the middle of a global health crisis. You can see how fucked up this is. And yet, in looking at the macro, it's easy to forget the very real and specific circumstances of performing artists struggling as more and more odds stack against them. Yes, struggling to pay bills, but also struggling to have any purpose or drive. And the industry they've trained for has suddenly disappeared. I reached out to two Broadway actors to hear their reaction to Friday's announcement. Here in their own words, are Mikey Graceffa and Lauren Zakrin.

[3:49] Lauren Zakrin: Goodbye, goodbye. I remember shutting myself in my dorm room, junior of college, after not getting cast in a student-run production of Into the Woods. Funny looking back now, but I was devastated and embarrassed. I thought that my dreams of being a Broadway performer were slipping through my fingers and I felt delusional. And I was very close to giving up. I had my room for a day crying and finally called my parents. They picked me up the next week, drove me to New York to see a show, it was Memphis and I was obsessed, and then walked me to my first NYC audition. I booked my first professional job that week and never stopped working ever since. I dedicated every inch of my life to my career, missed graduating with my best friends, missed countless holidays, lost contact with some very amazing people, but I never stopped working.

I invested my time in classes and finding great agents and networking and giving my life to theater. Years later, I booked my first Broadway tour and then my first Broadway show in an original cast. Proud was an understatement, but I felt the bruises and the scars and the loneliness of dedicating six plus years of my life to pursuing my dreams. And every new production, every new curtain call, every new opening number, I never regretted.

[5:22] Mikey Graceffa: When I'm on stage, I'm home and I feel completely me. Hearing the news Broadway and most of life theater probably won't be back for another year is heartbreaking to say the least. I finally got my feet on the ground and arrived at this magical place called Broadway with two beautiful shows under my belt. I had momentum and I finally began a life outside of my profession with a new freedom of more job security and seniority. I woke up today feeling very existential and wondering what the hell I'm supposed to do now. I'll figure it out. I always do, but I'm scared and I'm exhausted and I'm confused. This pandemic has reached the point of devastation because of the president of our country. People have lost their lives and their jobs and their freedoms. Please vote and help me and thousands of others get our lives back together again.

[6:26] Mikey Graceffa: The Broadway shutdown has been extended so many times. You would think I would have accepted it by now, but it still stings. My heart breaks every time. What a brave and beautiful thing to have committed your life to the arts, to storytelling, to this community, to have chosen to immerse yourself in the passion for the magic of lighting design, set design, hair and makeup, costume building, choreography, orchestrations. It is not easy to find success in our industry. You have to fight relentlessly to get those phone calls of relief and reward, but it is always worth it. Coming together in rooms with other brilliant minds to collaborate and build something to help heal the world. What an honor. I feel so grateful for every time I was gifted with the opportunity to do what I love for a living over the last 12 years. I've learned now more than ever not to take anything for granted.

[7:55] Mikey Graceffa: Even in these times of struggle and disappointment, we must hold on to the things in our lives that are still beautiful because we know now nothing is for certain. Nothing is permanent. It has been seven months since I was last on stage with Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, and it will be at least, at the very least, seven more before most of us return home to a stage if we are lucky. I am sending so, so much love to every single artist, director, choreographer, actor, dancer, singer, musician, costume designer, crew member who is struggling with this disappointing news, who is losing their insurance, who is being forced out of their home in New York City. Everyone I have sat in a rehearsal room and learned harmonies with, every girl who has helped me zip the back of my dress in a Ripley bathroom, to all the smiling ushers, all the beautiful faces at stage doors, please keep the love in your hearts for all that we have accomplished and keep the hope.

[9:11] Mikey Graceffa: Donate to the Actors Fund and to Broadway Cares, Equity Fights AIDS. Stay home, wear a mask, vote, and just be ready to fill the world with music again when she is finally ready for us. Special thanks to Mikey Graceffa and Lauren Zakrin for sharing their stories with us today.

[9:41] Mo Brady: The Ensemblist was produced today by Anna Altide, Jackson Klein, and me, Mo Brady. There are two great ways you can be helping The Ensemblist right now. One is by leaving us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts, and the second is by becoming a Patreon member, which you can do at patreon.com slash The Ensemblist. Please follow The Ensemblist wherever you listen to podcasts, on Spotify, on Apple Podcasts, or at bpn.fm, the home of Broadway Podcast Network. You can also follow us on Instagram. Thanks for listening. Until next time.